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Reservation
History With over 17 million acres, the Navajo Nation encompasses the entire northeast quarter of the state of Arizona, and spills over into New Mexico and Utah. Vast areas of pristine wilderness, majestic canyons, high mountain meadows, dry deserts, atlands and blue skies characterize the land of the Navajo people. Mid 20th century Navajo leaders recognized the need to preserve and conserve these lands for future generations for their enjoyment and spiritual well-being, and, in accordance with Navajo custom, to welcome visitors from all over the world. Monument Valley Monument Valley provides perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American West. The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years for movies, adverts and holiday brochures. Because of this, the area may seem quite familiar, even on a first visit, but it is soon evident that the natural colors really are as bright and deep as those in all the pictures. The valley is not a valley in the conventional sense, but rather a wide flat, sometimes desolate landscape, interrupted by the crumbling formations rising hundreds of feet into the air, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region. Although much can be appreciated from the main road, a lot more of the landscape is hidden from view behind long straight cliffs (the Mitchell and Wetherill Mesas), east of the road on the Arizona side (seeoverview map). This is contained within the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (entrance $5 per person in 2011, free for children under 10), reached along a short side road directly opposite the turn-off to Goulding. From the visitor center at Lookout Point there are good views across three of the valley's most photographed peaks - East and West Mitten Buttes, and Merrick Butte. The park has only one hiking path, the 3.2 mile Wildcat Trail which starts just south of the visitor center and loops around West Mitten Butte. Valley Drive: The view from Lookout Point is spectacular enough, but most of the Navajo Tribal Park can only be seen from the Valley Drive, a 17 mile dirt road which starts at the visitor center and heads southeast amongst the towering cliffs and mesas, one of the most famous being Totem Pole, an oft-photographed spire of rock 450 feet high but only a few meters wide. The road is dusty, steep in a couple of places and rather uneven, but does not need 4WD - unless after recent heavy rain, the journey is suitable for the majority of family cars, and small to medium sized RVs, though the surface is perhaps not improved too much in order to increase business for the many Navajo guides and 4WD jeep rental outfits, which wait expectantly by the visitor center - typical prices are around $75 for a 2 hour trip (though cheaper tours are available from Gouldings Lodge). As well as eroded rocks, this area also has ancient cave and cliff dwellings, natural arches and petroglyphs, all generally away from the Valley Drive at more isolated locations and viewable only as part of guided tours. The Valley Drive passes 11 numbered stops at the most scenic places, and a typical journey around the loop takes at least 2 hours. Tourists are not allowed to hike away from the road closer towards any of the formations, but even so the trip is very enjoyable. Antelope Canyon Antelope Canyon is at once one of the most breathtaking and tranquil places on earth. Gently carved from the Navajo sandstone over the course of countless millenniums, the slot canyons are majestic and narrow passages, just enough space for a small group to walk the sandy door - and for the occasional shafts of sunlight to shine down from above.The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse' bighani-lini, which means "the place where water runs through rocks." Upper Antelope is at about 4,000 feet elevation and the canyon walls rise 120 feet above the streambed. Lower Antelope Canyon is Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches." It is really two separate canyons - Upper and Lower Antelope.Each contains the hidden "slots" carved from the swirling sandstone, and both drain from the south into Lake Powell. Window Rock Window Rock (Navajo: Tségháhoodzání) is the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest territory of a sovereign Native American nation in North America. Window Rock contains the Navajo Nation Council, the Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park, as well as the Navajo Nation World War II Memorial. Window Rock's population was 2,712 at the 2010 census. 06windowrock.jpg|Window Rock Sm map.gif|The map of reservation Antelope-canyon-arizona-hd-wallpaper.jpg|Antelope Canyon Lake Powell3.jpg|Lake Powell MonumentValley3.jpg|Mountain Valley 2951699557_38845c20ff.jpg|Mountain Valley on horseback 0617_little_colorado_04.jpg|Little Colorado River